Macca-Vilacrosse Covered Passage

Macca-Vilacrosse Covered Passage

Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse is a fork-shaped, yellow glass covered arcaded street in downtown Bucharest, Romania. Câmpineanu Inn (Romanian: Hanul Câmpineanu) once stood in the place nowadays occupied by the passage.

After the Chief Architect of Bucharest, Xavier Vilacrosse (a Catalan architect who had followed the French school), married the daughter of the inn owner (1843), the couple received the inn as a wedding present, renaming it with the architect's name. Toward the end of 19th century it was demolished, being replaced by a two-stories-high, ornate structure, in the style of Western passages.

The two narrow streets making up a two-tined, fork-like shape were covered with a glass roof, allowing the entry of natural light while providing shelter from the rain. The ground floor was meant for shops, while the rooms on the first floor were for rent. One branch of the passage was called Vilacrosse, while the other one was called Macca, after Mihalache Macca, the builder's brother-in-law. The two-tined end opens onto Calea Victoriei, one of Bucharest's main avenues; the other end opens toward the National Bank in the historic Lipscani district.

Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse hosted the first Stock Exchange House of Bucharest, before a larger and more appropriate structure was built. Between 1950 and 1990 the passage was called Pasajul Bijuteria ("Jewelry Store Passage"), but the initial name was restored afterwards.
It's one of the popular places for an outing with friends in Bucharest, the advantage being that you're sheltered in case of rain but you're still "outside", in natural light. In this place you'll find something for everyone: there's are a couple of Egyptian cafes were you can puff at narghiles, a rock themed Blues Cafe with pretty good music, a Romanian restaurant, a French Bistro, even a Chinese restaurant.